Kids Kickstart Project Playroom For Toys For Tots

POCONO SUMMIT — A child is spreading the holiday spirit in Monroe County, helping to make sure every kid has a toy on Christmas. It’s called Project...

mon playroom

Author: Amanda Kelley

Published: 5:18 PM EST December 11, 2014

Updated: 5:18 PM EST December 11, 2014

POCONO SUMMIT -- A child is spreading the holiday spirit in Monroe County, helping to make sure every kid has a toy on Christmas.

It's called Project Playroom.

6-year-old Mikey and 3-year-old Matt Malek have a playroom filled with Legos, Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots, and games on top of games. And each year about this time, their parents say they give them the same chore.

"Boys, you've got to clean this play room. Let's start looking at stuff that doesn't work is broken," said Michael Malek.

"Because I wanted everyone to have a nice Christmas."

The boys, with a little help from mom and dad, say they find a few forgotten toys.

"We always clean out the playroom and we find toys that are unopened," Mikey said.

This year they found about six race cars and a few games untouched.

They took them to a Toys For Tots collection at Rock'n Willy's Tattoo in Stroudsburg, donating them to other kids in need.

After Mikey dropped off his unopened toys to Toys For Tots, he thought it would be a good idea to try and get other kids to do the same.

"I wanted my friends to clean out their playrooms and rooms and so they could find unopened toys," Mike said. "Because I wanted everyone to have a nice Christmas."

It started Mikey's Project Playroom. The boys created a Facebook event to spread the word and even got their classmates involved with the help of Mikey's teacher at Swiftwater Elementary.

"She helped us write a letter to get to his classmates and their parents, explain what the project was, how you could help, and all that good stuff. It was great," said Mikey's mom Vanessa Malek.

Encouraging other kids to give back was all Mikey's idea, a gesture these parents say makes them proud.

"It's pretty cool. It's definitely a very proud moment, definitely makes you feel like you are doing something right and you've got a good kid on your hands."